Last year it was Montgomery Ward now it's Service Merchandise going out of business after 40 years. 200 stores nationwide. Hope none of you guys are affected directly by this news. I Just hope Best Buy and Circuit City can survive this economy. Service Merchandise Going Out of Business January 04, 2002 4:53:00 PM ET NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Reuters) - Bankrupt retailer Service Merchandise Co. Inc. (SVCD) on Friday said it will close all of its 200 stores and eliminate half of its 1,000 corporate employees as the U.S. recession and fallout from the Sept. 11 attacks crippled the chain. The retailer, which sells gifts, jewelry and home decor products, said its 8,300 store employees will leave the company after all merchandise is liquidated beginning Jan. 19. That process is expected to be completed this spring and requires approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. The remaining 500 corporate employees will be let go at staggered times throughout the year. Service Merchandise, which has been in business for more than 40 years, also said it has canceled vendor orders. The retailer had hoped to emerge from bankruptcy in the first quarter of 2002. The slowing U.S. economy has claimed other retail victims as consumers shopped more frequently at discount chains and cut back on nonessential purchases. Montgomery Ward & Co. closed its doors after weak 2000 holiday sales and housewares chain Lechters ceased operations in 2001. The retailer, which filed for bankruptcy in March 1999, said it will file a plan of liquidation by Sept. 30 to provide for the distribution of the proceeds of its assets to creditors. Service Merchandise said shareholders will not receive any compensation for their investment. During the 1970's, Service Merchandise was known as a catalog showroom retailer, but the format lost appeal with shoppers. In an attempt to restructure its business, in 1998 the retailer became a specialty retailer with an emphasis on jewelry and gifts. Since the company filed for bankruptcy in 1999, the retailer has closed about 130 stores and cut about 31,000 jobs. The company also discontinued unprofitable product lines such as electronics, toys and sporting goods and developed a program to sublet square footage at many of its stores.
service merchandise never adapted to the changing climate of retail....neither did montgomery ward's....they became largely irrelevant to consumers. i just hope the people who are laid off are able to find jobs quickly.
I am surprised Service Merchandise lasted this long. Their whole concept of purchasing was just not appealing to consumers any more.
service merchandise and montgomery wards (in my experience) were often old, run down, and in bad locations...no wonder they went out of business.
I am going to miss the commercials.... Damn that tune was catchy....... " No place but Service MerCHandise."
Well up here in AR I have never seen a Service Merchandise but I did visit them frequently while in the Houston area. Well you know what they say...there's always Wal-Mart.
there's always wal-mart --- spoken like a true Arkansan!! i was up in that neck of the woods over the christmas holidays...very cold!!!
I wouldn't worry about Best Buy too much. There's one near where I live, and I've never seen a place so packed *every single day* for holiday shopping. Some days there wasn't even an open parking space in the lot.
I'm surprised Burlington hasn't shut down yet. Their service usually sucks and their buildings are dirty. After saying that, they are busy though.
I'm not sure about CC, but Best Buy is doing very well. Their stock price has soared the past 2 or 3 months (of course a lot of that has to do with the WTC attacks) and has nearly doubled over the past year when everyone else is running scared. The only thing I worry about is their projected growth rate slowing down (which is the current trend). That being said, there is no way in hell I'd ever set foot inside a Best Buy during a holiday season. They must use chemicals to attract all those people. Wal-Mart is about the only store that's worse.
I had a friend that used to work at Circuit City and he said that since Fry's has opened here in Houston almost a year ago, that one store has affected all of the Houston area Circuit Cities. Thats pretty pathetic. CC sucks anyway, most of their stuff is MSRP but their advertised stuff is not too bad.
